Fostering case study: Susan

Susan is a chatty, bubbly 8 year old girl with a friendly disposition. She is of average height and build with lovely long wavy brown hair. Susan enjoys playing imaginative games particularly with her dolls, being read to, and baking cakes. Susan is very tactile and enjoys a high level of physical contact. Susan really enjoys one-to-one attention from adults, she likes to think she is in charge but this needs careful
management.

Susan eats and sleeps well generally but is an early riser and likes everyone else to get up with her! Susan’s self-care skills are appropriate for her age.

Susan has a statement of special educational needs and attends a special school for children with learning and behavioural difficulties. She appears to thrive in small group settings with a high staff ratio. Susan has suffered emotional and physical harm whilst living with her birth family, initially with her mother and then with her maternal grandparents. This has left her with a mix of strong feelings which she is only just learning to manage. These include high levels of arousal due to her anxiety and feelings of unfairness. She remains reliant on her carers to offer reassurance and anticipate her needs in most situations.

Susan is currently part of the therapeutic reparenting programme and has been with her current carers for nearly 2 years. The therapeutic reparenting programme will support her transition in to her new family by welcoming the carers into the regular network meetings before the placement to share information and help them get to know the child. These meeting will then continue for a while once she is placed in her new family.

Susan needs a 2 parent family who can meet her emotional needs and where she will be the youngest or only child. Or a single parent with a strong support network. Her carer(s) will need resilience, a great deal of patience, psychological strength and an understanding of Susan’s needs to be able to support her to manage her feelings.

Susan needs long-term stability, an adoptive family or long-term foster carers are required.

Susan has indirect contact by letterbox with her birth parents and maternal grandparents.

Once yearly direct contact with her younger brother. Susan does not have contact with her half sister who has been adopted. Susan also has a half-sister who lives with her father. They do not have contact.

If you would like to know more about Susan, please contact the Initial Enquiries Team on 0845 330 2968.

Please view our other case studies about fostering experiences.